Steam Wilbur
Steam Wilbur is a character in the Wild Cards series of books. History Wilbur Leathers had a dream to own and operate a steamboat, and to do this he needed to secure funds outside his means. After returning home to the United States following World War II, he embarked on a series of visits to banks and some less-reputable sources for loans. His search took him to New York City where he witnessed the first fateful Wild Card Day in 1946. Although people had died around him Wilbur walked away unscathed, not realising that his genetic code had been compromised by the wild card virus. Wilbur's dream, the Natchez, named after a series of steamboats owned by his forebears, had her maiden voyage on the Mississippi River in 1948. His card turned in 1951 when a loan shark came to collect a debt, and shot him through the chest after Wilbur stumbled through scalding hot steam. Wilbur found himself suddenly released as an apparition of steam and lunged at the man, unwittingly assuming possession of his assailant's body and outright killing him with the heat of the steam he had absorbed as his own body died. He could then only watch in despair as his pregnant wife - thinking him dead - left the boat, while Wilbur himself was consigned to a deathless vigil over the boat he had poured all his hopes and dreams into for decades to come. Sixty-six years after his apparent death Wilbur became involved in several situations affecting the Natchez. Notably, joker refugees from Kazakhstan who had born the brunt of misplaced blame for their country's upheaval had been brought aboard and had come to Wilbur's attention. Additionally, the present day representative of the company that owned the Natchez had laid plans to have the boat scuttled in a sabotage incident, and had taken out insurance policies on several prominent crew members to maximise the profit from the boat's demise. To the former, Wilbur did what he could to misdirect the government agents trying to apprehend the illegal aliens, and was rewarded for his efforts when one of the refugees, Nurassyl, restored his capacity to speak and later granted him the ability to leave the steamboat. To the latter he tried to spy on the company representative, with little success, but once the man's plot was hatched and the boat's boilers began to overload, Wilbur intervened directly, using his power to absorb the excess steam from the overloading boilers and release it safely away from the boat. This act made him starkly visible to the disbelieving public, and with his existence revealed to be more than just a ghost story Wilbur was soon reunited with his long lost wife and the son he'd never met. Wild Card Traits Steam Wilbur is an invisible apparition with the ability to absorb steam to make himself seen, to make himself heard, and to interact a little with the world around him. Once empowered by steam placing his hand through any of the Natchez's steam pipes he becomes visible to others in the vicinity, and has to will himself to remain invisible if he wishes to remain unnoticed. Once removed from a source of steam, Wilbur soon cools, and his passage through the boat can be marked by water droplets from the condensation, often appearing as wet patches on walls he has walked through. With more steam, Wilbur can apply limited force, enough to lift a marker pen. Wilbur can also merge with a living being and assume full control over that person's body. He needs a little steam to affect the takeover, and the heat and moisture are both detrimental to the host, so much so that when he first possessed someone he also killed the man with the heat from the scalding steam he had absorbed. Once merged, Wilbur also has access to the host's memories, although he needs time to pick through them for relevant information and is reluctant to stay long as prolonged connection is harmful to the host. The host remains fully conscious of what is happening and feels sickness once released. Initially Wilbur was trapped on the Natchez, unable to speak and unable to leave the boat, however Nurassyl's healing ability allowed him to affect both verbal communication and the ability to leave the Natchez. For the six decades before Nurassyl intervened, Wilbur felt as if an invisible wall was preventing him from stepping ashore and he literally had no voice to speak with. Appearance Wilbur retains a resemblance of of the man he was in life: late twenties with a boat captain's attire. Mostly he is invisible, but after absorbing steam he can will himself to become visible to others. After absorbing a lot of steam he has to concentrate to remain invisible. Even when visible he appears as nothing more than a ghostly apparition of misty steam. Personality Wilbur is a good man, haunted by the knowledge that he killed someone in the fateful moments that the man effectively killed him. He viewed his subsequent entrapment on the Natchez as penance for a crime he felt guilty about for the rest of his existence. Selected Reading